Translated by 🎏 Edited by apricot, @babyybluebear
oTO v4
Xie He’s eyes were lidded, and his lips quivered. The stubborn set to his shoulders, as if determined to carry the weight of the world, relaxed at last…
CC and the rest walked over, and the five young men pulled into a group hug.
The noise of victory surrounded them, yet Xie He heard nothing at all.
It was an unfamiliar warmth paired with the familiarity of his teammates, and when his line of sight landed on the three letters, FTW, he seemed to dazedly catch a glimpse of his former self. wkU2hR
His former self at eighteen years of age, wearing the black FTW team uniform, waving at him.
Goodbye, FTW.
Goodbye, the long distant past.
Xie He shut his eyes, trying to suppress the heat welling in his eyes. Cv6saD
He had already lost this feeling once; this time, he had to hold onto it tightly.
Xie He hugged his teammates, and his pale slender fingers clenched around the EVE logo on the uniform, keeping EVE within his grasp!
Echo came onto the stage. EVE’s coach, who always maintained her elegance and composure, had cried until her lovely makeup had started to run.
She could vaguely imagine Xie He’s emotions after being clean swept off the world stage by FTW. exSCcH
What didn’t kill you made you stronger.
But who could envisage the heart-wrenching agony?
How much blood and tears would be shed when those hidden scars that had ached for three years were suddenly reopened in the span of a day?
Fortunately, this had been a form of recovery, a form of letting go. VesLWG
Fortunately, he was finally home.
On the other side of the stage, Lu Feng took off his headset. He stood up, and his gaze turned towards EVE.
As if he could sense him, Xie He looked over as well.
Their eyes met, and there was no need for words between them. fQ9zGw
Just like how it had been for countless nights before, three years ago.
As two taciturn men, they had been more than content to solo until daybreak.
It had been three years since. Three years of waiting and anticipation.
Lu Feng, on the competitive stage, finally conveyed to Xie He: It’s alright. I’m doing well. Dtg Wy
Xie He squeezed his eyes shut, but the tears that he had blinked back still ended up falling. Yeah, we’re all doing well.
Having stormed into the world finals, the three little ones from FTW were ecstatic.
Even Brother Cai, the lazybones that he was, jumped to his feet. His face was flushed as he hugged Yue Wenle and Ning Zhehan, and almost smacked a kiss onto their faces!
Wei Xiao was delighted, too. They were one step closer to freedom; how could that not be cause for delight? dshGml
But when he looked over at Lu Feng, his heart was caught in a vice grip.
Xie He was prone to sentiment.
What was to say that Close wasn’t as well?
Wei Xiao approached him quietly and gave him a bear hug. bh5LX6
With everyone in such high spirits, this could easily be written off as excitement, adrenaline, or simply being overwhelmed with emotion.